A Provo firefighter is working overtime to create a device he says will help reduce the thousands of stove top fires that happen every year.
A simple stove top dinner can quickly become a disaster if you’re not careful.
Provo firefighter Peter Thorpe said, “On a smoke alarm, it warns that there’s a fire but it doesn’t do anything to put it out or prevent it.”
Katie Layne remembers what it was like to see her neighbor’s home engulfed in flames only months ago. She said, “Once the wind slowed down I could see just flames.”
The experience has been a real wake up call for her. “I’m cautious about anything that can cause fires,” Layne said.
Fortunately for citizens, there are firefighters like Peter Thorpe. He not only fights fires, but he also came up with an invention to prevent the most common house fires, stove top fires.
While returning to the fire station from a smoky kitchen incident, Thorpe recalled, “I thought, why can’t the smoke alarm in this event, tell the stove to cut power?”
So Thorpe began work on a device, called the Firevert, that would do just that.
The electric stove plugs into the device. The device plugs into the wall. When the fire alarm goes off, the device waits three minutes and then turns off the stove. Thus, a fire is prevented.
With the help of BYU students, Thorpe’s plans for the Firevert are becoming a reality.
“It’s just fun to hold something and be like wow, this right here can save someone’s life or even save thousands of dollars of property damage, “ Thorpe said.
Layne hopes to never have to experience a house fire again, even as a witness. And thanks to the Firevert, she may not have to.
The Firevert will begin manufacturing in January. Thorpe said that it will be the start of many devices to help prevent fires in all areas of the home, including the laundry room.
To learn more about this potentially life saving device, visit http://www.activefireprevention.com/
